Introduction
our net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.– Benjamin Franklin, American inventor and politician
Do you have any habits that could harm your work or career?
Maybe you check your email when you're in meetings, turn up late to client visits, or take personal phone calls when you're supposed to be focusing on your work.
You might even let habits like watching too much television or excessive Internet surfing stop you working on learning goals in the evenings and at weekends.
Bad habits like these can damage reputations and limit what's possible in our lives and careers, so it's important that we learn how to deal with them.
Task
You can break bad habits and, in some cases, replace them with positive behaviors. Unfortunately this takes time; research shows that, on average, you'll need to engage in an alternative behavior or thought pattern consistently for an average of 66 days for it to become a habit. (This can vary from 18 to 254 days, depending on the behavior and the person.)
This can seem overwhelming. But stop and think about the last time you kicked a bad habit for good. It felt great, didn't it? Remember, your bad habit could be damaging your reputation and career, and it's well worth putting in time and effort in to overcome it.
Keep in mind that there isn't a "one size fits all" approach to bad habits. You'll likely need a combination of strategies to be successful!
Use the strategies in process to overcome your habits.
Process
1
Admit that you have a problem. Acknowledging that you have a habit you'd like to break is vital. Consider the ways that the habit alters or affects your life, and accept that you'd like to change this. Ask yourself:
- Why is this habit bad?
- What's holding me back from getting rid of it?
- What things or people stop me from breaking the habit?
2
Change your environment. Research suggests that sometimes our environments can cue us to perform certain behaviors, even if we're actively trying to stop. Find a way to change your scenery and see if your bad habit becomes less tempting. For instance, if you like to smoke out on your patio, remove the chair you sit in and replace it with a plant. If you tend to overeat at the same location at the dining room table, move to a different seat or rearrange your furniture such that you're facing a different direction than usual when you eat. Subtle changes to the environment can make a habit less rote and force your mind to reassess what's happening.
- Limit your interactions with people who encourage your bad habit. If your bad habit takes place in an environment that you can't alter, like your place of work, then try changing the social configuration of your habit. For instance, if you smoke on breaks with a group of coworkers, start timing your break differently so that you're not tempted to join the fray and light up. Your social life might suffer, but your health will improve.
3
Create barriers to the habit. If your reason for avoiding the habit is more pressing than your desire to engage in it, the behavior will become continually easier to avoid. Here are a few suggestions:
- Find someone you like who disapproves of your habit. Tell yourself you will not indulge in the act whenever you are around that person. Use the person as an anchor, and try to be around them whenever you feel like controlling the urge.
- Capitalize on other habits. Use another behavior or tendency to combat the habit. For instance, if you're lazy, be lazy about your habit. Think of it as too much effort. If you're a smoker, keep your pack locked up in your car down the street.
- Pay up. put a dollar (or more) in a can. Set an amount that you'll hate to cough up whenever you give into the urge, and stick to it. When you've successfully kicked the habit, spend the money on a reward or donate it to a charitable cause.
4
Find a placeholder. Try to replace your habit with something new and positive in your life. The key is not to focus on the "not doing", but to think instead about "doing." For instance, if you're trying to stop smoking, eat a sucker or walk around the block when you would usually light up. Filling the void left by your old habit with another activity will help you avoid backsliding.
5
Be patient. Behavioral conditioning is a long process, and breaking a habit takes time - as much as you'd like to, you probably won't stop doing it overnight. Set realistic goals and plan to have the behavior wiped out in 30 days. If you get to the end of a month and find you need more time, take another 30 days. As long as you're still improving, don't pay too much attention to how long the process is taking. You'll get there eventually. You just got to do it!
Evaluation
Time to Make a Choice!
Now it's time to make a choice. It's no longer an involuntary act because now you know that you are making a choice every time you perform this action. Each time you start to do whatever the bad habit is now you have to actively choose. Which do you value more? Do you value more the relief you get by yelling at your kids or do you value their emotional well-being? Do you value more having more Internet time or having a pleasant place to live?
Conclusion
It's easy to ignore this lesson by saying, "Everybody's got bad habits". The question is, "What about your bad habits?"
- Are you ready to deal with them?
- Are you ready to admit them, share them?
We all need to break our bad habits; the problem is when; when will we begin the process? I hope today will be that day for many of us here.